The newest edition of the EA Sports football video game hits stores today and gave Cutler an 86 overall player rating – the same rating he had in last year's game. That’s the 13th highest rating on the Bears and puts him behind teammates such as Matt Slauson (91), Lamarr Houston (89) and Tim Jennings (88). Marshall had the highest rating on the Bears (96) and the second highest rating among all NFL wide receivers. Matt Forte (95) was second on the Bears and fourth among all NFL runningbacks.

"Madden" not only gives each player a rating, but also each team. The Bears received an 84 rating, which was second best in the NFC North behind the Green Bay Packers (88).

For those who don’t think the players care about the ratings in a video game, trust me, they do. I remember Forte telling me at a Madden Super Bowl party that he was disappointed with his "Madden" rating that season. Forte told me used it as motivation.